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02/16/2010 11:20:59 AM · #1 |
| ...an interesting forum discussion I ran across, and thought I'd share. Some fine links embedded in the discussion as well. |
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02/16/2010 01:21:09 PM · #2 |
Interesting discourse. To tell you the truth, I read the article/post before I looked at his port, and I was surprised and disappointed by his images. I think there are prolly quite a few people here that could easily put together a much more appealing port that would have no illusions about their ability to make a living from their imagery.
I have to wonder about the poster's ability to see his own limitations, and be honest about what he feels is marketable relative to that skillset. If he's marketing savvy, he may have better luck than to rely on what he's shown in that portfolio. Though I certainly don't hold myself up as any judge of marketability of imagery, I certainly can tell a not particularly fabulous offering when I see it.
I had illusions of my own photoghraphy business at one point, mostly fueled by the friends we all have that say, "Your pictures are FABULOUS, you should sell them!". Of course, between being shot out of the saddle by exhibitions, galleries, and a lack of sales after investing the money in enlarging, matting, and framing, I have had to not only ask the question "What is photography?" but "What do I want, to have a photography BUSINESS, or to be a photographer?".
I know that I want to be a photographer......and to that end, for me with a family, a life, and a "real" job, the photography business......ain't happnin'! Funny thing is....without having the burden of trying to manage the financial aspect of a business, I have time and effort to put forth doing the thing I want to, and love to, do, and that's shoot pictures.
I dunno what you would get out of a formal education in photography, I'm sure a lot, but it occurs to me that the education I've gotten here in the past three years and change has given me knowledge, experience, and insight that you wouldn't necessarily get in a classroom. The ability to shoot "themed homework assignments", two a week, and one a month, then to move on to judge and critique the rest of the class's "assignments" as well. And then you can have a whole round table discussion after the "grades" are in for the week.
Judging from the responses and discussions that occur all the time in the forums, I think that very question, "What is photography?" gets explored on a regular basis. I do think that if I decided at this point that I wanted to lose all sanity and attempt the photography business thing, at this point I feel that I am both better informed, and better equipped to deal with the various challenges that a photography business present.
But I'm enjoying my role as a "DPC Student" much more.......8>)
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02/16/2010 05:10:38 PM · #3 |
These are my thoughts about it:
-Be very careful about deciding who to pick as your teacher, especially if you do not clearly know what you want, what you stand for, what your goals are, & even more so if you do. Your portfolio should include a "photographer's statement" & should clearly support that statement. Ideally, your teacher will be just as picky about accepting students.
-Before your interview, you should know everything you can about the career/portfolio of the person who will be interviewing you, the reputation/work of former students, the reputation of the program. Otherwise it could be a waste of time for everyone.
-As a self-employed artist/photographer there are so many middlemen lining up to take a bite out you, it's kind of disincentivizing.
-If I was interviewing, one of the questions I would ask would be--in a world super-saturated with free visual information, why would anyone pay money for yours?
Message edited by author 2010-02-16 17:11:00. |
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